Microsoft Research Asia: Advancing AI and Technology Frontiers

Microsoft Research Lab – Asia: Advancing AI and Technology

This page provides an overview of Microsoft Research Asia (MSR Asia), highlighting its research areas, collaborations, people, and contributions to the fields of Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and related technologies. MSR Asia is dedicated to fostering an open, inclusive, and sustainable environment for scientific research, driving innovation, and addressing global challenges.

Research Domains:

MSR Asia's research spans across several key domains:

• Intelligence:

  • Artificial Intelligence (AI)
  • Audio & Acoustics
  • Computer Vision
  • Graphics & Multimedia
  • Human-Computer Interaction
  • Human Language Technologies
  • Information Retrieval

• Systems:

  • Data Platforms & Analytics
  • Hardware & Devices
  • Programming Languages & Software Engineering
  • Quantum Computing
  • Security, Privacy, & Cryptography
  • Systems & Networking

• Theory:

  • Algorithms
  • Mathematics

• Other Sciences:

  • Ecology & Environment
  • Economics
  • Medical, Health, & Genomics
  • Social Sciences
  • Technology for Emerging Markets

Key Initiatives and Highlights:

• Abstracts: Societal AI with Xing Xie: Explores the societal impact of AI.
• NUS collaborates with Microsoft Research Asia: Focuses on advancing AI research and cultivating computing talent.
• HKUST signs MoU with Microsoft Research Asia: Fosters collaboration in future medical education and research.
• NeurIPS 2024: The co-evolution of AI and systems with Lidong Zhou: Discusses the interplay between AI and systems.

Computing Fundamentals:

• Advances to low-bit quantization enable LLMs on edge devices: Discusses efficient LLM deployment.
• Differential Transformer: A novel approach in transformer architectures.
• The era of 1-bit LLMs: Explores the efficiency of 1-bit LLMs.
• Unified Database: Foundation for large language model vertical applications.

Intelligent Interactions:

• Efficiently generating long, high-quality, and dynamic videos using text prompts: Advances in video generation.
• Media Foundation: New approaches to multimodal models.
• VALL-E 2: Enhancing text-to-speech models.
• VASA-1: Real-time audio-driven talking faces.

Multi-modal Perception and Communication:

• Metasurface: Future of wireless sensing and communication.
• MobiCom 2024 highlights: Innovations in wireless mobile technology.
• KOSMOS-2: Grounding multimodal large language models.

AI and Society:

• Societal AI: Building human-centered AI systems.
• Low latency carbon budget analysis: AI for environmental insights.
• Guarding human health: AI applications in healthcare.
• AI aids study of ancient script: Using AI for historical research.

AI for Industry and Science:

• PEACE project: AI applications in geology.
• Can AI unlock the mysteries of the universe?: AI in scientific discovery.
• MarS: Financial market simulation engine.
• Driving industry evolution: Impact of generative AI on sector transformation.

Academic Collaboration:

MSR Asia actively engages in academic collaborations through programs like:

• StarTrack Scholars Program: Fostering research talent.
• StarBridge Program: Bridging research and industry.
• Societal AI: Focus on human-centered AI.
• Ada Workshop: Promoting women in technology and research.

Meet Our People:

• Xiaofan Gui: Bridging abstract thinking with practical solutions.
• Navigating different cultures: A heart-focused journey.
• Yasuyuki Matsushita: Tackling societal challenges with AI.
• Dongqi Han: An interdisciplinary odyssey with AI.

Leadership:

• Lidong Zhou: Corporate Vice President, Chief Scientist of Microsoft Asia Pacific R&D Group, Managing Director of Microsoft Research Asia.

Follow Us:

MSR Asia maintains a strong presence on various social media platforms, including Weibo, WeChat, Zhihu, Toutiao, Bilibili, and Xiaohongshu, to share updates and engage with the community. They also encourage following on X, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Instagram.

Products and Downloads:

Microsoft Research offers various tools and resources for researchers and developers.

Careers:

Information on open research positions at MSR Asia is available, including Senior Researcher roles in Cloud and AI Infrastructure and Systems and Networking.

Privacy Choices:

Links to Microsoft's privacy policies and consumer choices are provided.